Conan: Adventures in an age Undreamed of 2d20 Impressions & Overview

[@Runeslinger]

Armour, Initiative, and useful Displays were the things that stood out to me first in terms of the game being tailored for Conan-style action and adventure~

[@riotousgmgames1204]

I really love the weapon qualities system, they make an axe feel different from a sword which is different from a spear without slowing down combat (once you've learned the qualities). The combat is definitely faster than I was expecting when I first read the system.

[@KuyVonBraun]

If you haven’t already done so I’d recommend returning to REH original stories. They are very much a product of their time (awkward racism and sexism) but are rip roaring adventure yarns. I think REH was a prizefighter for awhile so he really understood the personal experience of violence, and that comes across in his narratives, pulse pounding, page turning action

[@The_CGA]

Yehp. The fine granularity of moments, the sensation that strength of spirit is part of a continuum with strength of spirit, that wanting it harder makes you a winner...that's what the soul of this game is about. This overview is more for people that are agnostic to REH, non-readers, etc. I make no attempt to explain or vamp the REH orignals herein--for whatever reason It just wasn't my focus. This game pulled me to learn and love Conan, but I understand that it works the other way too, and devotees of the fiction find that it's given life herein. For my part, I want to attract the folks for whom Sword & Sorcery **(sandal)** has touchstones beyond Conan...attract them to both. Come to the well~

[@mikewilliams4443]

Sorry about Trump.

[@The_CGA]

It’s interesting how the several words about “racism and sexism” were focused on, totally within the context of very conventional “product of its time” language, from a speaker who clearly is trying to spread an appreciation of the text... So then spouts an angry wall of text about “leftism” (they really mean the Jordan B Petersen mythical and imagined “NEoMarxism”? Anyway, Conan stories are a bit dated, but they’re good eh? I don’t think anybody disagreeing here. There are some book-burning pitchfork waving tendencies inside of Twitter, the reach of that kind of thinking is still pretty short and doesn’t enter reality very often. I critique them when they hurt freedom of expression. But this video isn’t about that~

[@thorkalel2851]

CONAN the only true Man and only true King for me!!!!

[@willinnewhaven3285]

I don't presume to speak for every designer who had to hear the criticism that their crunchy combat system meant that their game is all about combat. I've heard that said about many games since D&D first came out and here is how I replied in my own rules: "That I provide elaborate combat rules does not mean that combat should be the focus of your campaign. Your GM can provide you many situations and challenges where combat can be avoided and some where it isn't even an option. The rules are there for when you need them. I ran an eighteen-month campaign where the PCs were performers and roadies in the world's first Elven Fusion rock band. There was some fighting but it was far from a major feature of the campaign."

[@barnyfraggles]

Nice review man, well summarised. The fluidity of momentum-induced combat options takes a bit of getting used to, but it all 'feels right' in practice for the pulpy Conan setting and my players slipped into the zone surprisingly quickly from the get go. I agree Hyboria is a little 2D as a setting and I sense episodic 'in media res, fast-paced shock-and-awe then eject' games (as per the Conan short stories) are the form of play that's intended....if players can handle that kind of depthless lack of direct continuity they might be used to in traditional fantasy games. I'm looking forward to directly segueing into Star Trek afterwards because your rules summary vids and my ongoing read through the core book has me tweaked and inspired!

[@coreybass3760]

I wonder if it would be a good system to run for Eberron. I think it might emphasize the 'swashbuckling' element of Eberron, although the magic is more evident than in Conan.

[@The_CGA]

Hmm. Once John Carter 2d20 rolls out that might be more in the cards. As yet nothing thick with Magic in 2d20. I expect plenty of cool airboat action jn JCOM 2d20, though.

[@captainnolan5062]

Start here: www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adventures/dp/0345461517/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532715580&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=conan+ghoward

[@AAron-gr3jk]

you have to read REH Conan. there s audio books. it's amazing

[@rigolgm]

Yeah. I'll start GMing this soon. I've gone a bit crazy and spent about £150 on bits for it before even playing it. But my skim-read of the rules makes me think I'll really like it!

[@gregoryfloriolli9031]

You should definitely try to get a hold of the original Robert E Howard stories. The later authors are fine but Howard is just on a whole other level. One other interesting thing is that REH was friends with HP Lovecraft so you can definitely see that the monsters have a more Lovecraftian feel rather than the traditional myths that Tolkien pulled from. In fact, Lovecraft and Howard on a few occasions included the names of mystical books or gods from each other’s work. That was the days before strict copyright lawyers, I suppose.

[@The_CGA]

+Gregory Floriolli right. Like I said, I am reading the originals. They are good. Yes. I have seen the connection with Lovecraftian mythos In the Elephant Tower. Both REH and HPL collaborated and actively explored the idea of shared universes. It's a writer's perogative--when it comes to their publisher, it's all a matter of contracts. There are numerous newer shared universes, Larry Niven did some of his own, Thieves' world comes to mind... it's not unheard-of even in the present.

[@MrTICGamer]

If I enjoyed 5e DnD...would you think I would enjoy this? I am a huge Conan fan....

[@Kritfayle]

I play a lot of different games and I tend to be a narrative GM over a rules GM (different styles nothing wrong with either) If you enjoy rules. Like if you enjoy D&D because of the combat, counting hexes, the abilities, miniatures all that side of things which a lot of players do. Then you have to go into 2d20 with a bit of a different outlook. Its a more narrative kind of ruleset. I find with 2d20 the players RP more, the dice and rules kind of bring it out of them (not that D&D can't have hugely RP based players) I really like the 2d20 system it suits how I like to GM. If you like D&D/RPG's although 2d20 plays differently I don't see why you would dislike it if you go in with a open mind and dig the setting.

[@JosephKeenanisme]

Hmmm, 2d20 sounds like it might be good for a Supers setting or something like the early 80s Gamma World.

[@The_CGA]

There is a Kickstarter going at the moment for a 3rd party license of the engine for a Mad Max style world. Getting a little more experience with combat in Conan I am thinking it may be able to do high action gunplay

[@jesserichards5582]

Havent gotten the books yet but the way it sounds for anyone being a magic user in this will be alot easier for me as a GM who is not to fond of magic which makes it harder for me as a dm in d&d 5e when everyone wants to be a magic user lol

[@The_CGA]

Magic is *Different*. Sorcery in this genre is costly, but in exchange it's also terrifying and the sorceror is able to shape much more of what their spells do. Unlike in the High Fantasy setting of D&D, magic is surprising, unusual and terrifying. While the rules underline a great deal of difference, the different bedrock of genre that each game rests upon is much more fundamental to why magic is different.

[@Vergast]

Where can I find these actual plays?

[@Kritfayle]

We have been playing Star Trek for a while now and love it. I recently bought Infinity which is a 2d20 system and its making no sense. Its the same base system but the wording in some of the add on mechanics just don't seem to be as smooth. I am interested to see how Conan plays being 2d20 as well

[@The_CGA]

Conan is certainly thr most "even" In the quality of the writing throughput the core book. There is a particularly important "add on " mechanic called Reach&Guard which is important to how weapons become differentiated from one another, which takes a litte while to master but is worth the payoff. The examples of play imply a different.way of doing opposed tasks which isn't correct, dice buys are Double blind and simultaneous. Overall Conan2d20 runs a little faster through the task.process because target numbers are fixed and dice always only cost one token.

[@sunsin1592]

It's not just Howard's stories. They've added all kinds of stuff, especially a heavy Lovecraft element. There are cultists of Dagon running around in every coastal town. I don't care about adding stuff; it's just a bit disingenuous given their supposedly "pure Howard" stance.

[@d.g.charles106]

Dagon is in Howard's original stories

[@sunsin1592]

@@d.g.charles106 I know, but much of this game is way more HPL than REH. And it's in no way just what's in Howard. Personally I don't care, but their claims of purity are a gimmick.

[@sixtyninemangler]

The Doom pool is a bad system, it can influence a character's decisions.

[@The_CGA]

I think that's the idea. The Character knows. I've known when it is time to leave a party before the cops show up (and then they do). I know when I've been pushing my luck waiting to repair something on my car. Doom is married and connected to character's risk taking. Should risk taking effect a character's decisions?

[@sixtyninemangler]

I understand what they're going for but trading extra dice for doom can really make it for a very irritating experience given the wrong circumstances. It only takes one selfish player who doesn't like to lose to rack up plenty of Doom points for the DM to amass. After that do you really think a party will want to confront a dangerous protagonist knowing that the DM has a treasure box full of Doom waiting for them. Another example is the one player who feels like the DM is picking on him because of all the Doom that's being used against him/her. One fix to this would probably be to keep doom amassed separate for each player. Or have a chart with a list of random calamities or encounters which befall the characters once a certain amount of Doom is amassed.

[@sixtyninemangler]

Complex Games Apologist Good review Btw. Crom!